Water Changes

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Right well going on that the tank will have adequate but not "super" filtration and that the fish are at least half their full grown size i would recomend changing no less than 25% a week, both those species are big and messy and will quickly pollute their tank if fed correctly.
 
Alien Anna said:
That would be a way over-stocked tank so you'd need to do a 25% w/c at least twice a week, possibly more if the water was looking manky.
What makes you say the tank would be over stocked?

The stocking would be ok IMO but the filtration would have to be huge, two large external cannisters at least.

The fish would not be exceeding the inch per gallon rule and the cats and cichlid occupy different levels of the tank so space wouldnt be a issue.
 
CFC said:
Alien Anna said:
That would be a way over-stocked tank so you'd need to do a 25% w/c at least twice a week, possibly more if the water was looking manky.
What makes you say the tank would be over stocked?

The stocking would be ok IMO but the filtration would have to be huge, two large external cannisters at least.
Mainly because the last time I saw a real-life red-tailed cat, it was in a tank the size of most people's living rooms and it must have been 3 ft long.
 
Who said anything about redtail cats? Redtails and salmon tails are two completely different species (they are native to entirely different continents), the only thing they have in common is that they are both catfish.

Salmon tails rarely exceed 24" and if the 3 listed fish were the only fish in the tank (which they would be because the salmon tails and oscar will eat anything else :lol: ) then the tank would be well within stocking limitations, ok i would preffer to see them in something a little larger but a 100g tank would be sufficient.
 
CFC said:
Who said anything about redtail cats? Redtails and salmon tails are two completely different species (they are native to entirely different continents), the only thing they have in common is that they are both catfish.
I'm not reading things properly today. Must be tired. Oh well, just ignore everything I say until I start making sense again. Just as well we were discussing a hypothetical tank, not a real life one.
 
If the tank is really dirty, just keep up the once a week water change but add waste control (chemical) once a week too.

The chemical will dissolve the poop and neutralize unstable waters

I use some when I go away for a while or when the tank is old and needs to be restarted
 
those species are big and messy and will quickly pollute their tank if fed correctly.

I understand the oscar being dirty and all, but wouldn't the salmontails clean up some of the uneaten scraps and all? Or is the dropping the problem?
 
Salmon tails are large predators and they will not be interested in eating leftovers from the oscar, they will need feeding in their own right and will produce a lot of waste. The bigger the fish the more waste they create, fish produce ammonia just by breathing.
 
Eelzor,
I have to add into this that I have had my BGK for about 3 years or so and I don't have any problems with him. I don't own a nitrogen testing kit,,,I would like to get a pH meter,,,damn I am not a very good fish squeezer. But anways back to the question. I found the biggest thing that affects my ghost is his ability to hide. The first ghost I started out with I killed out of stupidity. (Don't hate me because I learned.) But I got tired of not seeing him so I took his hiding tube out. I did this for only one day and he never recovered and died a few days later even though the tube was put back in. My current ghost lives in a glass tube (one of the glass tubes you find on old oil burning lamps. It is not darkened at all and I can see him very clearly. I am starting to be more concerned with giving him a darkened hiding spot but so far he doesn't seem to mind. To help him though I don't turn on the light on that side of the tank. I know they are supposed to be hard to keep fish but again (knock on wood) I have not had this. To add in as a little horror story a few weeks ago I was sitting on the couch watching the news. All of the sudden I heard what sounded like my walls being torn down. I looked around the room and I got to watch the ghost's 30 gallon tank drain itself in about 60 seconds. Some how the glue that held the bottom to the side had seperated. I was so horrified that I started running for the trash can to try and catch a few gallons. My poor ghost was flopping on the gravel and he is my baby. I scooped him up in my hand and ran for the kitchen to the only tank I had available, a little ten gallon tank that was not heated but just at room temperature. Needless to say a few days later after he made it I went out and bought him a new 55 gallon tank where he now lives. So I wouldn't say they are gold fish but with just regular and proper care you should do fine.
Signed,
Sondan
 
wow, scary but interesting story sondan. I still look forward to getting one though. perhaps a pair. theres a 2 for 1 deal going on down at my LFS so ill jump at the offer. by the way, i heard that BGK's are electric. How strong is this? Is there something i should be aware of? :unsure:
 
Eel,
The ghosts are not pairable at all. (according to everything I have read about them.) The fact that they are electric makes putting any other kind of electric fish (including their own kind) in with them a bad idea. This also includes the big boys like the electric eel as well as the nicer guys like elephant noses.
Signed,
Sondan
 
what about BGK's with elephant noses? I think elephant noses used the same electrical element as BGK's.
 
You must of missed what I wrote. ;) The very last line said that it was not a good idea to mix any kind of electrical fish with ghosts.
Signed,
Sondan
 

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